“You’re fine. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’twantto.”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just…” Gabriel stared at the sausages frying in the pan. Grease popped, and he flinched. Then, in a small, defeated voice, he spoke. “Imissthem.”
There were so many questions Adrian wanted to ask, but before he had time, footsteps approached from down the hall. Sterling entered the kitchen moments later. Dressed in a white button-down and a pair of dark blue pants completed by a brown leather belt, he looked more casual than Adrian had ever seen him before. Adrian bit the inside of his lip and tried not to think about how goddamn stunning he looked like that. He let irritation overtake himinstead.
Gabriel had been about to speak about his past. With information like that, Adrian might have been able to help him. And here came Sterling, effortlessly owning his highbrow penthouse and somehow making it look drab in comparison, to shutGabrielup.
“The oven’s on,” Sterling remarked from the doorway. He slid his hands into the pockets of his pants, his thumbs hooked over the corners. “What are youmaking?”
“…Potato hash,” Gabriel mumbled. “I’m sorry. I found potatoes, and there was sausage, so I thought… it would be okay to…youknow…”
“It’s more than okay. I just wish I could have helped.” The smile on Sterling’s face was genuine, and Adrian knew that it was meant to instill confidence in Gabriel, but the expression frustrated him all the same. Who did Sterling think he was to walk into their lives like he’d known them forever? Did he think he could waltz in and fix Gabriel’s problems with a little bit of alpha-inspired confidence and a few charming smiles? Life didn’t work that way. Gabrielwashurt.
Gabriel shook his head, staring at the pan with wide-eyed fear while color flooded his cheeks. “It’s okay. I don’t need help. I used to be the only one allowed in thekitchen.”
“Oh?” Sterling chuckled. “Did your parents not trust Adrian around theknives?”
Adrian shot Sterling a look that would have melted steel, but it did nothing to dull the mirth inSterling’seyes.
Gabriel laughed. It was subdued, but it was still a laugh, and it made Adrian perk up immediately. He turned his attention to Gabriel, startled that Gabriel was willing to engage. “No. It wasn’t our parents’ kitchen… it wasGarrison’s.”
The popping of grease on a hot pan and the sizzle of sausage on cast iron was the only sound. The mood changed, and Adrian reluctantly looked away from Gabriel to see what thematterwas.
Sterling stood in the doorway, the same place he’d been standing before, but he didn’t stand with the same easygoing posture. There was something different about the way he held himself—a tension in his face and his shoulders—that was disturbing. It was like Gabriel had admitted to something disturbinglymacabre.
“Garrison?” Sterlingasked.
“My boyfriend.” Gabriel’s cheeks burned brighter. “Out of everyone, I miss himthemost.”
The hairs on the back of Adrian’s neck stood on end. He looked between Gabriel, smiling and flustered, and Sterling, pale and serious. It was news to him that Gabriel had a boyfriend, but from what little Adrian knew about his situation, it made sense. Someone had picked Gabriel up from the mall on that day four years ago—someone Gabriel was willing to trust withoutquestion.
“What’s he like?” Sterling asked at last. There was a chipper beat to his voice that wasn’t usually there, and Adrian identified it immediately as artificial. He hoped Gabriel, who didn’t know Sterling as well, wouldn’t be able to hear it. “How long were youtogether?”
“We’re still together.” Gabriel cast a shy glance in Adrian’s direction, then looked back at the sausages. He prodded at them with the spatula, poking them until they turned over so their browned undersides faced up. “He, um… we kind of started our relationship four years ago, but it’s complicated, and I… I don’t think I should talkaboutit.”
“That’s okay.” Sterling slid his hands out of his pockets. Adrian was aware of each of his movements, and he tried his best to read into them to figure out what was going on in Sterling’s head. Something had spooked him—Adrian understood that much. But what? “You know, I used to know aGarrison.”
Gabriel’s eyes brightened, and his lips parted as he smiled. Adrian couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen his brother that happy. “Didyou?”
“Mmhm. I’m having trouble recalling his last name. Bay…Bayport?”
“Baylor.” Gabriel set the spatula down. “Do you know where he is? I… I need to find him. We’ve been separated for almost two years now, I think, and I need to get backtohim.”
What the hell was going on? Adrian searched for meaning on Sterling’s face, but Sterling masked his true emotions behind a politely interested smile. A chill crept down Adrian’s back, and he resisted the urge to cross his arms over his chest and shrink in on himself. There had never been any doubt in his mind that what had happened to Gabriel was bad, but the things Gabriel said now were eerie in a way that Adrian couldn’t begin to wrap his headaround.
A secret boyfriend he never mentioned—a boyfriend that Sterling knew. All these years, had Gabriel been whisked away into some secret pleasure chamber deep within TheShepherd?
Even that explanation didn’t feel right. There was a piece of the puzzle that Adrian wasmissing.
“I don’t know where he is right now. We were only ever acquainted.” Sterling shifted his weight to his other foot. “Adrian and I still have to shower this morning. Are you okay cooking breakfast onyourown?”
“Yep.” Gabriel looked pleased with himself. He dropped his gaze again. “And if you think of anyone who might know where Garrison is, could you ask them for me? I miss himverymuch.”
“Sure.” Sterling took a step back. He met Adrian’s eyes in a way that said Adrian needed to follow him. “Thanks for taking care of breakfast for us. That’s very kindofyou.”
“You'rewelcome.”
Sterling left. Adrian watched him go until he turned down the hall and disappeared from view, then cast a final look at his younger brother. The tips of Gabriel’s ears were glowing red, and there was a tiny, pleased smile on his face that made Adrian want to shake him until he told thetruth.
